[Chapter Size: 2800 Words.]
Third Person POV
Novigrad.
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"I'm telling you," Zoltan grumbled in the middle of the table, among other dwarves.
It was night on that day, and Zoltan had just arrived in Novigrad.
"I don't believe you," said another dwarf, laughing as he drank together with the others, listening to Zoltan's story about his months-long adventure.
"We heard a few things, but only the nobles know more... We usually only get rumors, imprecise ones. I don't believe them," said another dwarf, laughing.
"I'm telling you, it was one of the greatest adventures I've ever had in my life! I never imagined that being with Geralt could put me into even more madness," Zoltan said, drinking, while his companions laughed beside him.
"Alright, from what we've heard from your stories tonight. You ventured into Skellige and… were with Geralt, the others, and even that well-known man from the war, Madara Uchiha," said another dwarf.
"I'm telling the truth!" Zoltan said, but his companions didn't believe him.
Since he had arrived in Novigrad that day, after a month traveling the roads and a few weeks alone, after parting ways with Dandelion along the way, with the bard heading north, he entered the city and went straight to the core of the dwarves' gang.
They asked where he had been all this time, since Zoltan had said he would head out to sea with the witcher and his group. No one had heard from him for months.
After a few drinks, he began to recount everything he had seen. Not that it was really a secret; as long as he didn't tell where Princess Cirilla was at the moment, there was no need to hide everything he had witnessed.
He bragged about having met the man from the rumors of the war in the South and about having seen personally what he was capable of.
"So you're saying you spent months alongside the most powerful human on the continent? You saw him spitting fire and destroying pirates as if it were nothing? You saw him hunt sorcerers, all kinds of monsters, ride a dragon, face the Wild Hunt and massacre them as if it were nothing? When the Wild Hunt itself should be nothing more than a legend?" The one who spoke was Cleaver himself, the leader of the criminal gang made up of dwarves from Novigrad, looking thoughtful.
"Yes, Cleaver," Zoltan said.
"You're saying that that infamous Madara Uchiha was among the group of people who were with Geralt?" he grumbled.
"Yes," Zoltan confirmed, keeping a low profile. "But he was there, yes."
"What you're saying is that that human slept under our roofs? So it's true? Those dragons in the North we heard about were really demanding a little girl, and he was here?"
Zoltan scoffed. "He handled the dragons himself. And the girl, from what I saw, rode one of them. One of the dragons served as a mount. You had to see it. After the wedding happened, he summoned the dragon in an explosion of smoke and flew away with the girl."
"The kings were offering a lot of money for him, you could have gotten rich?!" one of them protested at the table.
"Great, go ahead. And bring all of our deaths in a pathetic way!" Zoltan mocked. "Trust me, if anyone were trying something stupid, it would only bring our deaths." He declared, and everyone looked at each other, the way Zoltan spoke sounded like a joke, but there were the rumors about Madara Uchiha himself, would he really be someone they could face?
They were silent for a moment. Until someone decided to break the silence.
"So Zoltan, you took part in noble balls and even a royal wedding? I'm impressed," said another dwarf, although he was a little skeptical, he tried to change the subject. Some seemed in good spirits, others not so much.
"You are very grumpy," Zoltan mocked. "But if you had been there, you would have been impressed."
The leader of the dwarves just remained thoughtful since the last remark, but said nothing. They continued drinking and talking, and Zoltan went back to his old room again. He almost had a heart attack when he closed the door and found a figure staring at him with red eyes.
"You! Do you want to scare me to death?" the dwarf grumbled, seeing Madara's red eyes and recognizing the black pattern. "Wait… what are you doing here?"
"Didn't your leader talk about the changes in the city?" Madara asked calmly.
Zoltan shook his head. "No. I just came back tonight. We drank and started talking nonsense. You weren't spying on us?" he asked cautiously.
Madara shook his head. "No. I was doing other things, but I heard about your arrival in the city. I have a few spies who informed me, and I came here. Coincidence or not, you walked into the room at the moment I arrived," Madara shrugged, while Zoltan looked at him with suspicion, although he felt there was no lie there.
"So I thought you were heading north."
"Not yet. I'm taking care of a few things here in Novigrad."
"Like what?" Zoltan asked. It had been a month since he had separated from Madara. If he had been there for a month, he couldn't imagine what he had already done. When he thought about Madara's question about the leader not having said anything about the city, he realized that something very big must have happened.
"I'm controlling Novigrad, if you want to know," he said, leaving the dwarf stunned.
"What do you mean?" Zoltan asked.
"It's quite simple. I control the priest, the leader of the Eternal Fire. I also made a deal with the leader of the city guard. I'm manipulating all the gangs in secret, even your leader here, but he doesn't know about it. I could simply put all the leaders under my control, but I didn't do that. I didn't need to. I only did that with the casino gang. The beggars' and dwarves' gangs I can manage without being so radical..." Madara said calmly.
Zoltan swallowed hard. This was not comforting at all. It was terrifying, and he knew Madara was telling the truth. He had that capability, as if he could simply destroy the entire city if he intended to.
"I've been in the city all this time because I'm going to control the Eternal Fire before it becomes a real threat, as I foresee. I also can't go around destroying everything; after all, I still have an image to uphold," Madara said, while Zoltan just nodded, a little awkward.
"Anyway, I'm around, and we're going to need your help."
"What do you mean?" Zoltan found it strange.
"It's a bit complicated, but I need you to manage a cabaret at the entrance of the city," Madara said, making Zoltan open his mouth like a fish.
"What?"
He could barely believe it, but Madara just shrugged and began to leave, disappearing as he jumped out the window without giving Zoltan any further answer. He would speak to the dwarf later.
Madara moved across the rooftops of the city's houses and advanced toward the guard headquarters, where he entered the leader's room, who was writing reports. Upon looking up and seeing the unexpected entrance, he murmured:
"You're here."
Madara felt as if that were obvious. Dudu was now acting as the leader of the city guard, after the other had supposedly fallen ill. He had been an ordinary soldier and was moved into the current position in just a few weeks after Madara managed to manipulate a few things behind the scenes.
"I came to ask about the reports. I want to know if there has been any activity from the Eternal Fire lately on the city streets, and you know what kind of activity I'm looking for..." Madara said.
The man in front of him had no idea that Madara already controlled the surroundings of the High Priest.
Even so, Madara asked despite the control, because he didn't have control over all the priests of the religion preaching throughout the city. The ideas and prejudice against non-humans were already circulating intensely within the religion.
Priests in lower positions in the hierarchy were whispering among themselves, while the leading priest began to punish those who spread these ideas and even gave speeches against non-humans. Even so, it seemed the seed had already begun to grow. It would take time, and it might begin to manifest in the coming years, but Madara was there to interrupt that.
Madara still wanted names to which he normally didn't have access and couldn't keep his eyes on every corner of the city.
That was where Dudu came in, as he had been appointed leader of the guard and, curiously, began to stand out, showing great skill and even solving all kinds of murders, even destroying a monster in the sewers. He also gained a good reputation and could easily lead the soldiers.
It was easy, since Madara wore the armor of the soldier Dudu was transformed into and switched places with him using his ocular ability mixed with his new understanding of space, being able to do the same thing that Sasuke's Rinne Sharingan could do, not switching only with a clone.
"Here is a list of what my men picked up on the streets," said Dudu, or rather, Tellico Lunngrevink Letorte, which was Dudu's real name and also the very name he had assumed when he joined the city as a common soldier.
He had made a deal with Madara after being kidnapped. Madara had explained his situation: as a monster, he would soon be hunted and, most likely, thrown into a bonfire and killed as a spectacle for the city in the future. In the original, he had escaped, but who could guarantee that would happen in this timeline with all the changes?
Dudu was torn between discomfort and acceptance upon hearing this, but ended up agreeing to work with Madara after realizing that he himself could kill him at any moment.
In addition, Dudu also suspected that the priests were behaving strangely, most likely under Madara's threat, or at least that was what he thought. Since then, they had been working together, earning the favor of the city in the name of the soldier Tellico Lunngrevink Letorte due to his skills and feats. Madara did not exaggerate in combat, but showed himself to be far superior to the soldiers when he was acting as Dudu.
Now, with Tellico Lunngrevink Letorte commanding the soldiers, Madara asked that his men begin to scour any public speeches against non-humans, hateful remarks, or even comments treating non-humans as pests. With the ears of the guard spread throughout the city, he now had a better listening network on the surface. While doing the same in the underworld, controlling the gangs. And he also had his ears inside the Temple of the Eternal Fire itself.
Madara wanted to destroy the religion from the inside out.
He read name by name on the papers that Dudu handed to him, indicating location and appearance. There were three priests, and three civilians, two men and one woman, talking at the harbor, in the city center, at the entrance, and also in the taverns.
Madara returned the papers and left the place, with Dudu going back to work. He was already used to this kind of behavior: Madara would appear out of nowhere, ask for information, and disappear.
Madara landed in one of the city's alleys as he moved to enter one of the very old buildings.
"Hey handsome boy, how about we have a little fun? You look so strong. I'll give you a special price!", a voice came from beside him.
Madara ignored the scantily dressed prostitute in the middle of the street and headed toward the building at the back.
He found an alchemy shop, with the owner working over a cauldron. He saw the door opening and turned toward the young man entering the shop.
"A customer," he murmured, looking suspiciously. Despite that, Madara looked like a noble. His clothes were clean and well-made, as discreet as they were, and because of that he did not assume anything yet.
"I want this list of materials," Madara said.
He took the paper, written in a feminine handwriting, and handed it to the alchemist, who only glanced at it briefly.
"It will be twelve coins," the man said.
Madara took out the coins and placed them on the counter, satisfied. The alchemist began to separate all the materials and handed them to him. After that, Madara left the place.
As soon as he stepped out through the doors, without anyone seeing him, he went to another part of the city, further north. There, it was a noble area, with walls surrounding the properties, unlike the houses in the city center, which were packed together, with a more agitated and heavy atmosphere. There, the environment was calmer, with enormous gardens surrounding the houses.
It was easy for Madara to rent a mansion. He simply placed a noble under a genjutsu so they would not identify who his contractor was. Madara left no traces in the city beyond those he trusted in some way. Zoltan could talk, but he trusted him; after all, Ciri's location was far more important than Madara's activities, so he did not worry about explaining exactly what he was doing.
He entered the house, placed the materials on the table, and went to a corner of the room. It was getting late, but Madara always took time to study his scrolls and notes.
Someone entered the room at that moment. Triss Merigold was there, looking curious after leaving the laboratory she had built in the house. She went over to where Madara had placed the ingredients and saw him in the room studying, approaching him.
"I saw the materials you bought. By the way, thank you for picking up everything on the list I asked for," she said, while Madara merely nodded, without looking up, focused on the jutsu he was trying to create with the brush making fuuinjutsu seals.
Triss did not fail to sit down on the sofa and stare at it all with curiosity.
"Any progress?" she asked.
Since Madara had come to Novigrad, he had met with Triss in the first few days, explaining the situation and his plans. He invited her to stay where he was, and she accepted, while she would work in the city helping Madara, other sorcerers, and all kinds of alchemists and hermits who would also be persecuted in the future.
"I'm almost finished. Maybe, in a few weeks, the space-time jutsu will be ready," Madara said, satisfied. He already had good mastery over space, coming from his training and his ability with the Mangekyō Sharingan, but he was still trying to create the right seal that Tobirama had created to perform the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Well, speaking of that, when are you going to see Ciri? I'm already dying of longing for her. I wanted to see her pregnancy," Triss commented, smiling.
"If my jutsu is complete in a few weeks, it will be easy to take her there," Madara said, while Triss felt a mix of fascination and caution toward the technique.
The idea of a kind of instant teleportation, without disturbances like the creation of portals or the manifestation of Chaos, just a silent change of scenery in moments, was efficient and elegant. According to what Madara had shared with her over the past weeks, he could travel anywhere, as long as there was a marked seal, a concept she had never seen before. It was innovative, and no mage had ever tried to do something like that, but she doubted they could manage it anyway.
Madara planned to go see Ciri in two weeks. He had visited her only once since they had separated again. Madara's wife was quite irritated by his delay, but it was what he could do while he remained for a time putting down roots in the city.
Ciri was also able to talk with Isabella, which seemed to calm the girl a little, having someone her own age to talk to. The priestesses of the temple were not good listeners without becoming horrified when hearing her stories. Things like fighting colossal monsters, dealing with all kinds of problems and dangerous scenarios, seemed simple to her, while others had difficulty understanding that.
At the moment, he already had three key positions in Novigrad, and the next would come soon. Ignoring Triss, Madara did not stop looking at a scroll he had received that day. Dijkstra had just arrived in Novigrad and wanted an audience with him. Since Madara had arrived, he had made it clear that he wanted to see him within Dijkstra's information network.
The bald man had finally arrived. It was time for a small meeting, where they would talk about the future.
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